Our social media presence

Data processing on social media platforms

We maintain publicly available channels on social media platforms. Information about the individual social media platforms we use can be found below.

In general, social networking services such as Facebook, X etc. can analyze your user behavior comprehensively if you visit their website or a website with integrated social media content (e.g., like buttons or banner ads). When you visit our social media channels, numerous data protection-relevant processing operations are triggered. 

Specifically:

If you are logged in to your social media account and visit our social media page, the operator of the respective social media platform may associate this visit with your user account. Under certain circumstances, your personal data may also be collected if you are not logged in or do not have an account with the respective social media platform. In this case, this data is collected, for example, via cookies stored on your device or by tracking your IP address.

The data collected in this manner allows operators of social media platforms to create user accounts that store your preferences and interests. This way you can see interest-based advertising inside and outside of your social media presence. If you have an account with a social media platform, interest-based advertising can be displayed on any device you are or were logged in to.

Please also note that we cannot retrace all processing operations on the social media platforms. Depending on the provider, additional processing operations may therefore be carried out by the operators of the social media platforms. Details can be found in the terms of use and privacy policy of the respective social media platforms.

Legal basis

Our social media appearance enables us to enhance our online presence. This is a legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. The analysis processes initiated by the social media platforms may be based on divergent legal bases to be specified by the operators of the social media platforms (e.g., consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR).

Data controller and assertion of rights

If you visit one of our social media pages (e.g., Facebook), both the operator of the respective social media platform and we are responsible for the data processing operations triggered during this visit. In principle, you can assert your rights (the right to be informed, the right to rectification, the right to erasure, the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability and the right to file a complaint) both with us and with the operator of the respective social media platform (e.g., Facebook).

Please note that despite the shared responsibility with the operators of social media platforms, we do not have full control over data processing operations on the social media platforms. Our options are largely determined by the company policy of the respective provider.

Storage period

The data collected directly by us via your social media presence will be deleted from our systems as soon as you request us to erase it, revoke your consent to the data storage or as soon as the purpose for the data storage ceases to apply. Cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them. Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular, retention periods – shall remain unaffected.

We have no control over the storage periods applied to your data stored by the social media operators for their own purposes. For more details, please use the information made available by the respective social media operators (e.g., in their privacy policy, see below).

Your rights

You have the right to obtain information about the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data at any time and free of charge. You also have the right to object, the right to data portability and the right to file a complaint with the responsible regulatory authority. Furthermore, you can request that your personal data is rectified, blocked or erased and, under certain circumstances, you can request the restriction of its processing.

Social media platforms in detail

Facebook

We have an account on Facebook. The provider of this service is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland (hereinafter Meta). According to Meta’s statement the collected data will also be transferred to the USA and to other third countries.

We have signed an agreement with Meta on shared responsibility for the processing of data (Controller Addendum). This agreement determines which data processing operations we or Meta are responsible for when you visit our Facebook channel. This agreement can be viewed under the following link: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum.

You can customize your advertising settings in your user account. Click on the following link and log in: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum and https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381.

More information can be found in the Facebook privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

The company is certified in accordance with the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the US, which is intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards for data processing in the US. Every company certified under the DPF is obliged to comply with these data protection standards. For more information, please contact the provider under the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/participant/4452

‍

Instagram

We have an account on Instagram. The provider of this service is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Irland.

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum and https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381.

For details on how your personal data is handled, see the Instagram privacy policy: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/.

The company is certified in accordance with the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the US, which is intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards for data processing in the US. Every company certified under the DPF is obliged to comply with these data protection standards. For more information, please contact the provider under the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/participant/4452

‍